Team TXSpeed continues to win the top finishes in the National Auto Sport Association Texas Region GTS 3 and GTS 4 (German Touring Series). The NASA Series raced at MSR-Cresson near Fort Worth, Texas on March 12-13 for Round 2 of the regional events, which consisted of two qualifying sessions and four races over the event weekend. As Team TxSpeed had dominated the 2011 season opener at MSR Houston in January, the team maintained their domination at MSR Cresson. They continue to pursue both regional and national championships in GTS3 and GTS4. Team owner/driver Jay Matus, in the No. 171 Porsche 996, and driver Kevin Mixon, in the No. 172 Porsche Boxster S, conquered over their competition on the quick and technical course of MSR Cresson. Team TxSpeed is in a constant state of seeking improvement. The MSR Cresson event weekend was further proof of the continuous development efforts and The Teams ability to adjust, adapt and implement minor developments providing further improvements track side. Mixon in car #172 finished first in the four (4) GTS 3 races of the weekend. The Team overcame a mechanical problem at the end of the first race that mimicked a ‘slipping” clutch. In the paddock, the crew jacked-up the car to better evaluate the problem and to determine if the symptoms pointed to any other malfunctioning part. It was determined that there was a problem with the right rear axle, which the Team was able to resolve with a 20-cent part. They quickly reassembled the car with the speed of a “Lemans” pit crew and got Kevin back out on the course for race #2 of the weekend. The track-side fix resolved the mechanical problems and Mixon took 1st in the remaining three races of the weekend.

During Saturday’s qualification and two races, Matus and Team TXSpeed identified that the car was not performing optimally based on the current set-up. Though Matus achieved a respectful best lap time of 1:18.925 for Saturday and crossed the finish line in first place during both races, Matus knew that there were some areas for improvement. During Race 2 on Saturday, an unfortunate tire-rub contact situation occurred between Matus and competitor Woods in car#95 in a battle for first and second as the two cars were on the last lap of the race and passing lap traffic. Matus ended up on the curbing and had no further room to give on the track when contact was made with Matus’ front driver-side tire and the rear portion of car #95’s passenger door. Wood’s became unsettled in the incident, spun, recovered and crossed the finish line as fourth (4th) in class while Matus was able to continue to the checker as first (1st) in class. Post-race penalties were assessed for the contact which resulted in repositioning Matus from first in class to fourth in class behind Woods. The contact did result in alignment damage for Matus. On Saturday evening in the paddock, Team TxSpeed focused on fixing the new alignment problem and determining the nature of and track-side remedy for the performance problem. Additionally, Team TxSpeed evaluated all aspects of being able to improve and shave off tenths of seconds on the track. This track-side improvement always includes reviewing data acquisition downloads so the drivers can determine where they can improve time with slight driving changes. This evaluation is studied for every inch of the track.

Saturday evening’s hard work and evaluations reaped positive dividends during Sunday’s qualifying and final two (2) races. Matus posted his best lap time of the weekend, 1:18.159, in the first qualifying of the day. In races 3 and 4 of the weekend, Matus continued to set the pace, and finished first (1st) in class and first overall in both races with a best lap time of 1:18.478 (race 3) and best lap time of 1:18.880 (race 4). The GTS4 field consisted of two of the 2010 GTS4 point’s leaders and another determined competitor. The complete racing group, called “Blitz”, consisted of eighteen (18) competitors in GTS, Super Touring and Super Unlimited. The development work on car#172 continues since it was just recently debuted. Mixon in car#172 has been successful in Rounds 1 and 2 with eight (8) first place finishes, and track records at MSR Houston, but the Team knows that it must always seek improvement. Since car#171 had been recently converted from the GTS3 Championship set-up to a GTS4 car, this car is still undergoing its development to ensure its set-up is optimized for GTS4 competition on both the regional and national levels. Up to the MSR Cresson event, simple modifications were performed, such as some weight reduction and the removal of the power restrictor. Though the car is highly competitive with the skill driving of Matus behind the wheel as evidenced with seven (7) first place finishes between Round 1 and Round 2 of the NASA Texas Racing Series, this team continues on the fine tuning path. With Rounds 1 and 2 of the season being a success, Team TxSpeed moves forward to Round 3 at Texas World Speedway in April with its ultimate goals of being prepared for the NASA Championships in September at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Team TXSpeed is grateful to their partners and industry advisors, each of whom contributes greatly to the ongoing success of this race team. They have helped Team TXSpeed to “Deliver the Winning Experience”.